Head of Procurement

SUMMARY
The Office of Financial Control (OFC) is primarily responsible for the management of financial and budgetary control systems for several NATO entities, primarily the NATO International Staff (IS) Civil Budget. As the custodian of member Nations’ funds, the OFC provides reliable and value adding financial and procurement services in support of front-line Divisions, enabling them to achieve their objectives. It works to comply with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and other best practices, including the management of enterprise risk and internal control. Standards applicable to NATO in the finance and procurement domains are the NATO Financial Regulations, the NATO-IS Financial Rules and Procedures, the IPSAS, the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations (CPR), the NATO-IS Procurement Manual, and the NATO Code of Conduct.

The OFC is organised around four main services: (1) Finance, Accounting and Control; (2) Procurement; (3) Treasury; and (4) Missions. The Head of Procurement is the IS Procurement Service’s sourcing, contracting, and market expert. S/he identifies solutions to business needs, sourcing demands and potential opportunities.

S/he has the responsibility for building high-quality sourcing and procurement performance and capability for more than €70 million in annual spend as part of the IS sourcing and procurement strategy.

The Head of Procurement acts for, or represents, the Financial Controller, when required and has legal authority to enter into commercial agreements on behalf of the Organization within the limits specified in applicable regulations and to issue procurement warrants to procurement officers and buyers.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE ESSENTIAL 
The incumbent must:

• possess a university degree in a relevant domain;
• have at least 8 years’ procurement and contracting experience, which must include at least 5 years of experience as category manager or senior procurement manager in supervisory roles, preferably in services, non-manufacturing, or public sector;
• have previous procurement and contracting experience within government or international organizations subject to public procurement principles and procedures;
• have proven people management, mentoring, influencing and leadership skills;
• have strong problem solving, facilitation, and conflict resolution skills;
• possess excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• have expertise in contemporary strategic sourcing processes commonly used by best-in-class organizations, particularly in non-manufacturing and public sectors;
• have demonstrated experience with current sourcing and procurement technologies (e.g. esourcing, e-procurement, spend analysis, contract management systems, etc.);
• possess experience with crafting and implementing procurement strategies and policy in regulated environments;
• have a proven track record of impactful contract management and negotiation/renegotiation;
• have an advanced knowledge of Ms Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint;
• possess strong research and analytical skills.
• possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; and IV (“Upper-Intermediate”) in the other.

DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:

• a post-graduate university degree in purchasing, contracting, or supply chain management;
• a professional qualification as public or government procurement practitioner such as Level 4 CIPS/UNDP (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply/United Nations Development Programme) or equivalent public/government procurement qualifications;
• a professional qualification equivalent to the CIPS Professional Diploma in Procurement and Supply granted by any of the national professional associations federated under the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM);
• experience with the design or implementation of new procurement processes, procedures or organizations;
• experience with the use of Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) in general and more particularly with the use of Purchasing, Sourcing, and Procurement Contracts applications of Oracle EBS;
• experience with the use of MS SharePoint or similar collaboration tools;
• experience or professional certification as project manager;
• familiarity with NATO procurement procedures and regulations.

COMPETENCIES 
The incumbent must demonstrate:

• Analytical Thinking: Sees multiple relationships;
• Achievement: Creates own measures of excellence and improves performance;
• Clarity and Accuracy: Monitors others' work for clarity;
• Conceptual Thinking: Applies learned concepts;
• Customer Service Orientation: Makes things better for the customer, addressing underlying customer needs;
• Impact and Influence: Uses indirect influence;
• Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation;
• Teamwork: Solicits inputs and encourages others.